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SP leader Azam Khan walks out of jail after 23 months
Senior SP leader Azam Khan, 77, released from jail after 23 months. His return boosts party morale amid speculations about his political future.
Senior Samajwadi Party leader and former Uttar Pradesh minister Mohammad Azam Khan, 77, was on Tuesday released from Sitapur jail after spending nearly 23 months behind bars. Khan had recently secured bail from the Allahabad high court in the Quality Bar land encroachment case of Rampur.
Azam Khan’s son Adeeb, SP MP from Moradabad Ruchi Vira besides hundreds of party workers and supporters welcomed him outside the jail. Although Khan was expected to walk out of jail at around 7am, his release was delayed due to some issues and he finally came out at around 12:20pm.
Meanwhile, scotching rumours that Khan may join the Bahujan Samaj Party, senior SP leader Shivpal Yadav, while speaking to media in Etawah, said, “These are all baseless rumours. SP is fully helping him out.” “Azam Khan has been falsely implicated in many cases. We thank the honourable court for giving bail to him. Samajwadi Party stands firmly with him,” Yadav added.
Samajwadi Party Moradabad MP Ruchi Vira said, “I want to thank our honourable judiciary for giving bail to Azam Saheb. In the history of free India, no political leader has been harassed so much as Azam Saheb. Today all party workers have gathered here to welcome him. His supporters are unnecessarily being stopped from coming here (Sitapur jail).”
Amid rumours of Azam Khan having differences with the SP leadership and looking towards some other political party for greener pastures ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, his release from jail is set to create a buzz in the politics of the Muslim-dominated constituencies of Rampur, Moradabad and western Uttar Pradesh.
Though Khan and his son may not be able to contest the elections due to their conviction in some cases, his political clout in and around Rampur and Moradabad might be a crucial factor in the polls.
Khan had earlier spent around 27 months in jail from February 2020 to May 2022. In February 2020, he went to jail in connection with a case involving a fake birth-certificate of his son Abdullah Azam. He was granted bail by the Supreme Court on May 19, 2022 paving his way for release on May 20, 2022. He was re-incarcerated in October 2023 when Khan, his wife Tazeen Fatima, and their son Abdullah Azam were sentenced to seven years in prison in the case involving the forged birth certificate.
There have been allegations against the Samajwadi Party leadership of neglecting Azam Khan. Nevertheless, in March 2024, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav visited Khan in Sitapur jail before the Lok Sabha elections. It was said that the meeting was held to discuss the Lok Sabha candidates for Rampur and adjoining districts. Yadav has been openly criticising the BJP for “framing” Azam Khan in criminal cases due to supposed “political vendetta”.
Earlier, Azad Samaj Party chief and Nagina MP Chandra Shekhar Azad had visited Azam Khan in Sitapur jail and termed the visit as personal. However, there was speculation about Azad forming an alliance with Khan for the 2027 UP assembly polls.
Khan has faced more than 80 cases, most of which were filed in 2019 including land grabbing, goat theft, machine theft, criminal trespass and cheating. He has been granted bail in a number of cases.
In May 2024, an MP-MLA court in Rampur sentenced Khan to 10 years in prison in an eight-year-old case involving forcibly vacating, looting, and demolishing a house in the Dungarpur area of Rampur in 2016. He was granted bail in this case on September 10, 2025.
In 2023, an MP-MLA court in Rampur sentenced Azam Khan, his wife Tazeen Fatima, and his son Abdullah Azam to seven years in jail for using a fake birth certificate for the son..
In 2022, Khan was sentenced to three years in prison for a hate speech during the 2019 Lok Sabha election campaign. This conviction led to his disqualification from the Uttar Pradesh assembly.
In February this year, his son Abdullah Azam Khan had walked out of jail, while Azam Khan’s wife Tazeen Fatima was released in May last year. Abdullah Azam had around 45 cases against him including fake birth certificate case and enemy property case.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has expressed happiness over the release of senior party leader Azam Khan. “We always had a firm belief that the court will do justice with Azam Khan Saheb. We hope that in times to come, local BJP MLA and one (retired) officer who has been getting numerous extensions will not do injustice again. It’s a moment of happiness for the party that Azam Khan Saheb has been released from jail,” he said while talking to the media in Lucknow.
“Respected Azam Khan Saheb is a founder member of the SP. We were hopeful that he will get justice. All cases against him will be withdrawn if the Samajwadi Party forms a government in Uttar Pradesh,” the SP chief added.
